f fire wardens in agitating the fire question and keeping before
forest residents the advantage of their cooeperation.

CO-OPERATION WITH PRIVATE OWNERS DESIRABLE

In fire patrol, especially, the state and the lumberman must work
together. It is reasonable that the timber owner should contribute
to the protection of his property. He also has peculiar facilities
for getting the work done well and cheaply. As a rule he is willing
to do his part. In 1910 the Washington Forest Fire Association and
other timber owners in that state paid out $300,000 for patrol
and other fire work. The Coeur d'Alene, Clearwater, Potlatch and
Pend d'Oreille Timber Protective associations spent over $200,000
in Idaho. Oregon timbermen spent approximately $130,000. Figures
are not available for Montana and California, but probably the
same proportion holds.

Thorough support by the state is necessary to make private work
effective. The men employed must have official authority to enforce
the law. The dangerous element does not respect a movement which
nominally represents only the property owner. The people in general
do not aid it as much as they do one in which they also share.
Therefore, it is necessary to have state facilities for cooeperating
in the organization, authorization and supervision of all forest
patrols.

LIBERAL APPROPRIATION A GOOD INVESTMENT

But to stop here is like attempting to protect a city from fire
merely by giving its factory owners the right to maintain watchmen.
We want to provide for the greatest possible advantage to the people
through the timber owner's desire to protect his own property,
but any forest policy which ends with this is hopelessly weak.
We cannot afford to leave any matter of public welfare wholly to
the wisdom and philanthropy of private enterprise. If we expect
our paramount interest in forest and water resources to be looked
out for properly, we must pay for it just as we do for all other
protection we get through organized government. Nor should we forget
that the timber owner helps us again in this, for he pays taxes
as well as the cost of his private patrol.

There are also many regions where timber values do not warrant
patrol, but where the safety of other property, and of life, demand
both patrol and fire fighting. Here the state owes its citizens
protection. Moreover, one of the weakest points in our present
system everywhere is lack of police authority to apprehend violators
of th